Vermont’s Agricultural Fairs

Almost every county in the state hosts an agricultural fair with whirring rides, fast-talking game barkers and greasy food. Here, rich and poor, rural and citified, young and old mingle in a way that is rarely seen elsewhere.

Photographer Daria Bishop spent time a few years back going to the state’s many fairs to capture this longtime Vermont tradition. She found compelling behind-the-scenes tales, memorable faces and stories of love.

Every fair, like every Vermont community, has its own traditions. For the Deerfield Valley Farmers’ Day Fair, the tradition is pie eating. Daria discovered that Travis Bolte of Readsboro was the defending champion. At one sitting, he ate 14 ounces of pie — not quite as good as the previous year, but still good. “There was a tiebreaker,” he says. “So they scooped pie off the ground, and I had to eat it again.”

Depending on the fair, there are local traditional favorites. At the Addison County Field Days in New Haven, locals line up for popular competitions like cast-iron frying pan distance throws, arm wrestling, and scything. Whether or not you get into the action, our bet is that you’ll have a good time.